Air-pressure and vacuity indicator.



PATENTED APR. 17, 1906.

H. A. HOUSE.

AIR PRESSURE AND VACUITY INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZ. 1905.

WITNESSES:

U Nrrn' srarns HENRY A. HOUSE, OF B-RTDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

AlR -PRES$URE AND vacu T'Y INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

"Patented April 17, 1906.

Application filed May 2, 1905- Serial No. 258,476-

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, HENRY A. House, citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Pressure and Vacuity Indicators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to gages adapted to indicate pressures, speeds, vacuity, and the height of liquid in storage-tanks; and it consists of a registering-glass, a flexible liquidw holding reservoir located at one end of the glass, and a flexible air-reservoir located at the other end. Said reservoirs are located within chambers, into one of which air is forced to compress the flexible fluid-holding reservoir to force the liquid up into the registering-glass and the air from the glass into the flexible air-reservoir at the top, thus ermitting the liquid to flow freely up the g ass. When the device is thus used as a ressure gage, the upper chamber is rovide with an air-outlet, so that the flexib e air bag or reservoir at the top will be free to expand under the incoming air from the registering-glass. When indicating vacuity, the rocess lsreversed- The air is exhausted cm the upper chamber to allow the flexible reservoiror ag in said upper chamber to expand, which will cause the liquid from the lower flexible reservoir to flow u the re ist'ering-glass, and thus indicate the degree of vacuit To enable others to understan my invention, reference ishadto the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a front elevation of th indicator. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the indicator and a broken view of a flexible tube connectedwith a metal tube opening into the chamber surrounding the flexible fluidreservoir. Fig. 3 is a detail upper plan view of the topbracket of the indicator with the cap or casing removed. Fig. 4 is a broken sectional view of the registering-glass, a view of the airereservoir located above the glass, sectional view of its support, broken sectional view of a tube connected therewith, sectional view of the support for the lower end of the registering-glass and the flexible fluid-reservoir, broken'sectional view of the cap sur-' roundin the fluid-reservoir, and broken sectional view of a'tube opening into the interior of said cap. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the indicator on line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail edge elevation of one of the flexible reservoirs and an elevation of its support. Fig. 7 is a detail View of one of the flexible reservoirs attached directly to a broken portion of the registering-glass.

Its construction and operation are as follows: j

1 is the registering-glass.

2 is a supporting-base for the lower end of the glass. A central recess, Fig. 4, is provided in then per surface of this base to receive the pacllin -washer 3, on Which the lower end of the g ass rests.

4 is a projection on the under side of the base 2, about which is tightly secured the neck portion of the bag-like reservoir 5. This reservoir-is made of rubber or other flexible material adapted to hold colored liquid for registering purposes, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. The projection 4 has a small central hole coinciding with the hole 6 of the'base '2 and the hole 7 of the packing 3, whereby communication is o ened be tween the registering-glass and exible reservoir. V

8 is a cap detachably secured to the base 2, the interior of which forms the chamber 9, surrounding the reservoir 5. 10 is a short tube communicatin with this chamber for the purpose present y to be explained. The

support, about which is secured the neck ofthe bag-like receptacle '13 to act as an airreservoir, presently to be explained. The packing-washer 10* has the small hole 14, and the sup ortin -flange 11 the hole 15, co-

inciding wit a ho e in the projection 12 to open communication between the reservoir 13 and the registering-glass. The bracket 16- has the cup-shaped support 17 ,"Fig. 3, adapted to receive the flange 11, Fig. 4, with the hole 18 to receive the tube-19, sothat when the flange is seated in this su port '17 the tubes 10 and 19 will roject t ough their supports, as'shown at ig. 2.

20, Fig. 3, is a packing-washer adapted to underlie the flange 11. (Shown at Fig. 4.) The central hole 21 is adapted to receive the circular flange portion 22, embracing the upper end of the glass 1.

23, Fig. 1, is a removable cap or cas ng having a chamber (not shown) like the chamber of the lower casing 8 to embrace the flexible bag-like reservoir 13.

24 is a bracket similar to the upper one, 16,

, scale shown at Fig. 1 represents speed, showing on the scale a reading from one mile per hour to sixty. When thus used as a speedindicator, the tube 26, Fig. 2, connects the metal tube with a flexible bulb (not shown) located near the axle of a motor-vehicle, so that at each revolution of the axle or vehicle-wheel the bulb is actuated by a slight compression to send up through the tube 26 and into the chamber 9, Fig. 4, short air pulsations which cause an outward pressure on the flexible fluid-holding reservoir 5. The compression of this sensitive bag-like structure will force the registering liquid therefrom up into the registering-glass.

- As the speed of the vehicle increases the in the glass, and thus interfere with a correctmore rapid will be the air pulsations and the farther the liquid will flow u the recordingglass. As soon as the liqui starts'to move up into the glass it will displace the air therein and force it up into the upper flexible reservoir 13 and expand such reservoir in pro portion to the height of liquid in the registering-g'lass. To allow the upper reservoir to expand freely, the air in the upper chamber surrounding said reservoir is allowed to esca e through the ventpipe 19. Were it not or this event the air in said upper chamber would be more or less compressed by the ex ansion f the reservoir 13 and cause more or ess back pressure on the registering fluid reading. It the speed is greater than can be indicated on the scaleor when the instrument is used for indicating pressures and the pressure is greater than can be indicated, the.

liquid simply flows into the upper air-reservoir and when the pressure is removed falls back into the lower reservoir again. It will thus be seen that there is no possible chance to overflow the recording li uid, and thus render the instrument worth ess until such liquidis replenished. The instrument can 'be reversed or placed in any position and not with the tank and a suitable scale used.

When using the device to register the amount of vacuity, the connection is made with the upper tube 19, which then becomes a suctiontube, while the lower tube 10 is open to the ward" pressure, the air in the upper reservoir will expand and form a partial vacuum in the registering-glass, and the liquid in the lower reservoir will flow up into this glass and indicate the amount or degree of vacuity in any vessel with which the instrument is connected. As the reading of the instrument for any of the desired purposes above described depends on air-pressure and a registering liquid, the instrument. can be set at any distance from the object with which it is connected.-

The above-described device has many advantages over the ordinary fluid-indicators. In the first place thefl'uid cannot overflow, for an excess of pressure will only force the liquid from one flexible reservoir into the other flexible reservoir, and when one is emptied there can be no further ressure on the exhasuted reservoir that wil affect the liquid in the reservoir into which such liquid has been forced. In other words, when the lower reservoir is completely collapsed and the communication between it and the glass tube fully shut off there can be no further pressure on the liquid in the upper reservoir to rupture the same by an overpressure.

My device is particularly adapted to use alcohol, which is the most sensitive and best of all the fluids for registering purposes, as there is no loss due to evaporation, as it is effectually excluded from the atmosphere. The flexible nature of the reservoirs renders them very susceptible to any outer disturbance of the atmosphere whether such dis,- turbance is due to pressure'or vacuum in the chambers surrounding said reservoirs. In my device there are no mechanical appliances like, for instance, valves or springs to get out of order.

struction is the manner in which the glass tubes are held in place on their supports, so that when a glass is accidentally broken it can readily be replaced by another.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is A 1. In an indicator of the character described, a glass tube, flexible reservoirs havmg open communication with the interior of said tube and at each end thereof, said reservoirs and tube sealed against the admission of air, a casing to form a chamber about each reservoir, one of said reservoirs holding liq- 'uid, means for admitting air above the normal into one chamber to force the liquid into the glass, and means topermit the escape of air from the other chamber, for the purpose set forth.

2. In an indicator of the character described, a glass tube, supports at each end thereof, packing between the ends of said glass and supports, projections on said supports, flexible reservoirs connected with said projections and having open communication with the interior of the glass, a casing to form a chamber about said reservoirs subject to pressure or vacuity, means for communicating with said chambers, for the purpose set forth.

3. In an indicator of the character described, an indicating-tube, flexible air and liquid holding reservoirs communicating with the interior of said tube and located one at each end thereof so as to seal the interior of said reservoirs and tube against the atmosphere or outer air, one of said reservoirs adapted to expand while the other is contracting so that, when the li uid is rising in the tube from theli uid-ho ding reservoir, the other reservoir Wil be expanded by air in advance of the rising liquid in the tube and thus avoid air compression above said liquid and also prevent the overflow of the liquid, for the purpose set forth.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, this 25th day of April, A. D. 1905.

HENRY A. HOUSE.

Witnesses:

FREDK. H. BECKWITH, S. J. OHAFFEE 

